Nif Nif, Springfox Games, Releasing April 1st
Inside a magical forest, evil goo is invading! ‘Nif Nif’, a tiny piglet, is on a misson to remove the goo and save his animal pals. ‘Nif Nif’ is a cozy deckbuilder rougelike that markets itself on a ‘heartwarming story’ with ‘accessible mechanics for all game players. The game was set to release on March 22nd but has been pushed back to April. A free demo is available on Steam now which I have played and found to be simple and relaxing with low stakes. It is also coming to Switch!
South of Midnight, Compulsion Games, Releasing the 8th of April
The anticipated action-adventure from the studio that created ‘We Happy Few’, ‘South of Midnight’, explores the mythos and mysterious creatures within the Deep South through a modern folktale. We follow Hazel, whose town (Prospero) has been devastated by a hurricane. She must become a ‘Weaver’ – a magical mender of broken bonds and spirits. South of Midnight was officially announced at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 11th, 2023, during Summer Game Fest, however, was leaked via Windows Central in 2021 where concept art was revealed. ‘South of Midnight’ is a third-person Souls-like that is centred around Hazel’s ability to use her weaving powers for combat. I know many people will enjoy this if they love a challenge!
Days Gone Remastered, Bend Studios on 25th of April
Receiving mixed reviews on its release in 2019, ‘Days Gone’ is an action-adventure third-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic Oregon. The game has you exploring an open-world, completing missions and battling through hordes of virus-infected enemies named ‘Freakers’. Upon its launch on PS4, some players cited the game being filled with bugs and suffering performance issues. The game’s mission design was also criticised being repetitive and lacking any variation, having the player travel to a location, battle through hordes of freakers and then returning to base. Overall ‘Days Gone’ was branded a generic open-world zombie game by the wider gaming community.
With a remastered announced in February and releasing in April, ‘Days Gone’ creative lead Kevin McAllistar stated that the title will benefit from “improved graphical fidelity, increased foliage draw distance, improved shadow and lighting quality, Tempest 3D Audio, VRR Support, and more”. Hopefully with the PS5’s much more powerful hardware, ‘Days Gone’ will have a more successful launch than in 2019. I think that despite this upscaling of graphics and Bend Studio’s attempts to make the game as aesthetically pleasing as possible, the fact that the core gameplay is not being amended will not address the qualms players had with the original game.